Yes, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford might cling to office and even win a byelection, if necessary. But after all his failures and follies, why would he want to?

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford talks to the media at city hall after being ordered out of office. (Nov.26, 2012)

Published on Fri Dec 28 2012

It’s been a hellish year for Mayor Rob Ford so it’s only natural to wonder why he’s so determined to hang on for another. He has been disgraced, derided, repeatedly defeated, disappointed, dissed and dismissed. And 2013 could prove even worse. It could be the year he’s unceremoniously dumped — the first mayor in Toronto’s history to be tossed from office.

Technically, he’s already achieved that distinction. Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland declared the mayor’s chair vacant in November after ruling that Ford had violated Ontario’s conflict-of-interest law. But Hackland gave the city two weeks to prepare for being leaderless and, in that time, Ford’s lawyer filed for an appeal and won a stay of political execution.

So Ford endures. His appeal is scheduled for Jan. 7 with a ruling expected some weeks after that. If he loses, his term is done. But there’s trouble ahead even if he wins this conflict-of-interest battle. It isn’t the only legal sword dangling over the mayor’s head.

A special audit has been underway for months. A report is imminent. It, too, could have dire implications for the Ford administration. Penalties for violating the Municipal Elections Act include fines and being stripped of elected office. Ouch.

Ford has vowed to fight on. If he’s ousted, and a byelection is called to find a new mayor, he says he will run. And — bizarre as it seems in light of all Ford’s failures — he might well win. A Forum Research poll shows the mayor’s support holding steady at 42 per cent, putting him in a position to beat all contenders except NDP MP Olivia Chow.

Although Ford could retain office, it’s puzzling that he wants to. On a personal level, he seems infinitely happier coaching teenage football players than guiding the $9.4-billion corporation that is Toronto. Nothing Ford accomplished at city hall this year put a smile on his face like the sheer joy he expressed hoisting a high-school football trophy last month. (Adding to the pain of 2012, his Don Bosco Eagles went on to lose the Metro Bowl championship a few weeks later.)

As for policy, it’s not clear what Ford could hope to accomplish except more penny-pinching even if he wins more time in office. True, there’s some garbage collection still in need of contracting out. The land transfer tax remains in his sights. And there are probably some city services and grants Ford would like to chop. But that’s not a vision for steering Canada’s largest and most dynamic urban area into the 21st century. In fact, Ford has never been a city builder, just a budget shrinker. And Toronto only needs a limited amount of that.

The sheer weight of this year’s gaffes and fumbles can’t help but erode a person’s confidence. In politics, Ford says, “you gotta have skin on you like an alligator.” But even the thickest hide won’t protect forever against the painful truth — this mayor is unfit to lead Toronto.

Listing the full hit parade of Ford’s follies requires more space than we have here. He’s been caught pressuring city staff to work on behalf of his family business; bullying and abusing municipal managers; packing city appointments with administration cronies; threatening to punch a Star reporter; skipping city business to coach high-school football; putting municipal staff and resources at the disposal of the Don Bosco Eagles; reading while driving on the Gardiner Expressway, and responding to the Danzig St. shootings by calling for criminals to be, somehow, banished from the city. He’s been forced to publicly confess his ignorance on everything from conflict-of-interest rules to how government ministries work. And that’s just this year. No wonder Ford’s name has become a punchline from coast to coast.

Yes, the continued support of more than 40 per cent of Torontonians surely holds some comfort. But maybe they just enjoy a good joke.

The mystery isn’t whether Ford can hold on to office. It’s why he clings to something giving him so little joy, purpose, or even the simple satisfaction of a job well done.

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